It’s been two weeks since a friend passed away. A year since both of my mothers have passed. A year and a half since my Aunt passed. Two years since my nephew passed. Three years since a sweet little boy passed and eleven years since my father passed. How are we continuing to live our lives without their presence? How do our hearts and inner souls begin to heal after such loss? Are we still asking the questions of why? What are we doing after they are gone?
We are living. We are living the best way we know how. We are searching for peace and praying God hears our cries. We are praying are hearts will be healed. “Come near to God and he will come near to you” (James 4:8). We cannot heal alone. We need God and each other.
In some ways it sounds selfish to say we are continuing our lives, but that is what God has intended for us to do. God encourages us not only to live, but to “pursue righteousness and love” (Proverbs 21:21).
With each passing day we find some kind of relief another day has passed. We continue the progression of moving forward and gaining the knowledge needed to develop a heart of wisdom. Our paths of life, in the presence of God, will be filled with joy. The broken heart we had from loss will learn to LOVE again.
Our lives are nothing but “a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14). So make your life and the lives of others count and let that mist of your life refresh the lives of others. Do this by reaching forward into the lives of those around you. Remember what inspired you about those you lost. If it was the courage they had to fight, use that courage in your own life. If it was their giving spirit, then give to those in need. If it was their hope, find ways to give hope to the hopeless. If it was the LOVE they had for their family. LOVE yours even deeper. If it was their faith in God, open your heart and let God in.
It becomes so easy to get caught back up in our own lives and forget about what others have lost; even what we have lost ourselves. In all the busyness of life never forget it is the simple things in life that can make a difference in this world; a phone call, a card or a hug. Even “a smile is an action of LOVE “(Mother Teresa). So smile along the path of life and never forget, in all the bad and in all the good, to LOVE one another.
Love with all your heart!
Luv, Luv,
Julie
